News Release

Wiley Foundation announces recipients of 6th annual Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences

Grant and Award Announcement

Wiley

Hoboken, N.J., January 29, 2007 -- Deborah E. Wiley, Chairman of The Wiley Foundation, and Senior Vice President, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., announced today that the sixth annual Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences will be awarded jointly to Dr. F. Ulrich Hartl, Director at the Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry, in Munich, Germany, and Dr. Arthur L. Horwich, Eugene Higgins Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology at the Yale University School of Medicine, and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Dr. Hartl and Dr. Horwich were chosen for their elucidation of the molecular machinery that guides proteins into their proper functional shape, thereby preventing the accumulation of protein aggregates that underlie many diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

"The Wiley Prize is being awarded to Dr. Hartl and Dr. Horwich for their significant contribution in protein folding," said Dr. Günter Blobel, Chairman of the awards jury for the Wiley Prize. A John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Professor of Cell Biology at The Rockefeller University, Dr. Blobel was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1999. The Wiley Prize awards jury also includes Dr. Qais Al-Awqati, a physiologist at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. David J. Anderson, a developmental neurobiologist at the California Institute of Technology, Dr. Joan Steitz, a molecular biologist at Yale University, and Professor Kay E. Davies, a human geneticist at the University of Oxford, U.K.

The Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences recognizes contributions that have opened new fields of research or have advanced novel concepts or their applications in a particular biomedical discipline. It honors a specific contribution or a series of contributions that demonstrate significant leadership and innovation. The award, which is given by the Wiley Foundation, includes a $25,000 grant, and the opportunity to present a public lecture at The Rockefeller University, the venue for the awards ceremony.

"In 2001 we created the Wiley Foundation and The Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences to acknowledge the contributions of the scholarly community to our corporate success," said Ms. Wiley. "Through this award we seek to recognize and foster ongoing excellence in scientific achievement and discovery. In addition to this award we have invited Dr. Hartl and Dr. Horwich to deliver a lecture at The Rockefeller University in New York City on April 6, 2007."

Last year's recipients of the Wiley Prize were Dr. Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Morris Herztein Professor of Biology and Physiology in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, and Dr. Carol Greider, Daniel Nathans Professor and Director of Molecular Biology & Genetics at Johns Hopkins University, for their discovery of telomerase, the enzyme that maintains chromosomal integrity and the recognition of its importance in aging, cancer and stem cell biology. Later that year, Dr. Blackburn and Dr. Greider received the 2006 Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, with Jack W. Szostak, Harvard Medical School, for their prediction and discovery of the telomerase enzyme. The prestigious Lasker Award is presented to scientists, physicians, and public servants, who have worked to understand, diagnose, prevent, treat, and even cure the world's most crippling and killing diseases.

Among the many distinguished past recipients of The Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences, three have also been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Dr. Andrew Z. Fire and Dr. Craig C. Mello, co-recipients of the Wiley Prize in 2003, received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of RNA interference-gene silencing by double-stranded RNA. Dr. H. Robert Horvitz, a co-recipient of the Wiley Prize in 2002, shared the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his respective work on how genes regulate organ development and cell death.

The presentation of this sixth annual award coincides with the beginning of the global publisher's year-long bicentennial celebration. Founded in lower Manhattan in 1807, Wiley helped to establish a distinctly American literary tradition by publishing such authors as James Fenimore Cooper, Washington Irving, Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, and many others. In its second century Wiley developed a reputation for publishing information on significant advances in science, technology, and medicine, contributed by prominent researchers and scientists from a vast community of scholars worldwide. Today, Wiley serves a global community of customers, authors, society publishing partners, colleagues and shareholders with its deep reservoir of must-have content and services.

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About Wiley

Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Our core businesses include scientific, technical, and medical journals; encyclopedias, books, and online products and services; professional and consumer books and subscription services; and educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley's global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The Company's web site is www.wiley.com. Wiley is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb.


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